To what extent has the iceberg melted now?

To what extent has the iceberg melted now?

To what extent do icebergs melt now? With the intensification of global warming, the glaciers at the poles of the earth are also melting. Although we now call for vigorous environmental protection, our existing science and technology can not enable us to achieve completely green and pollution-free production activities. So to what extent has the iceberg melted now?

How far has the iceberg melted now? According to Agence France-Presse, a research report published in Nature on April 28th shows that almost all glaciers in the world are melting at an accelerated rate.

It is reported that an international research team first observed about 220,000 glaciers around the world (excluding Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets). It is found that from 2000 to 20 19, the global glaciers melted an average of 267 billion tons of ice every year.

The research team also found that during this period, the melting rate of glaciers accelerated sharply. From 2000 to 2004, glaciers melted about 227 billion tons of ice every year; However, between 20 15 and 20 19 years, an average of 298 billion tons of ice melted every year.

In the past 20 years, the rate of global glacier thinning has doubled. Researcher Roman Hugonet, a glaciologist at the University of Toulouse, called the figure "huge".

The study also found that the melting rate of Alaska glaciers in the United States is one of the "fastest in the world", and the local Columbia glaciers shrink by 35 meters every year. Half of the melting glaciers in the world are located in the United States and Canada.

Local time 65438+February 2, 2020, South Georgia Island, the world's largest iceberg A68a is drifting in South Georgia Island.

According to the BBC, satellite images show that A68, once the largest iceberg in the world, has melted into "countless small pieces" and actually no longer exists.

When A68 broke away from the Antarctic continent in 20 17, it covered an area of nearly 6,000 square kilometers. It is reported that A68 has been separated from the Larsen C ice shelf on the edge of the Antarctic and has hardly moved for a year. But then, with the help of strong ocean currents and winds, it began to drift northward at an increasing speed. Icebergs enter the South Atlantic and reach South Georgia Island. Many icebergs melted here, but A68 escaped this fate. Atlantic ocean waves, warm sea water and high temperature led to the final disintegration of the A68 iceberg.

Local time 2065438+July 30, 2009, Irulisat, Greenland, climate change is having a far-reaching impact on Greenland. The local weather is unusually warm and many glaciers are melting.

A joint research team composed of Danish and British experts used historical images and a large number of other data to calculate the amount of ice lost by the three major glaciers in Greenland since the 20th century. It is found that Jakob Glacier melted more than 1.5 trillion tons of ice between 1.880 and 20 12, while Kangkruswag Glacier and Helheim Glacier lost 1.4 between 1.900 and 20 12, respectively.

Shaquette Khan, a researcher from the Danish University of Science and Technology, said, "The worst-case scenario is underestimated, and glaciers may melt three to four times faster than previously predicted."

What will be the threat that has met mankind?

sea level rise

The continuous rise of global sea level is the biggest threat brought by the accelerated melting of glaciers. The research shows that the "contribution rate" of glacier melting to sea level rise is about 2 1%.

Sea level rise has brought problems to many low-lying coastal areas. For places like new york and Shanghai, sea level rise 1 m may bring disaster. Another study shows that by the end of this century, sea level rise may cause 14.2 trillion US dollars in asset losses to the global economy, and make 287 million people threatened by occasional floods. At present, 1.7 1 100 million people have suffered this threat.

The latest research shows that some glaciers in eastern Antarctica are easier to melt than previously thought, which may lead to glacier drift and sea level rise.

Romain Hugonnet, a doctoral student in geophysics at Toulouse University, said that it may be difficult for people to understand the importance of glacier melting, which will affect the global water cycle and may also lead to changes or collapse of downstream ecosystems.

Scientists predict that the global sea level will rise by 6 to 58 cm in this century. Nature News magazine once said that in 2050, 300 million people around the world will be affected by sea level rise.

Global warming has intensified.

Glaciers can form a specular reflection, reflecting some sunlight away. When the glacier melts completely, the temperature of the earth will continue to rise, because it cannot reflect the temperature of the sun.

On February 9, 2020, Brazilian scientists measured a temperature of 20.75℃ on Seymour Island at the northern tip of Antarctica. This is the first time since the meteorological record of 1880, the Antarctic temperature has exceeded 20℃, and once "extremely cold places" began to "heat up".

On March 17, 2008, cracks appeared in the Wilkins Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf in Antarctica, due to global warming.

According to the data of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the global average temperature has increased by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1 degree Celsius) since systematic records began in the 1980s.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States and the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union announced that in 2020, the average temperature of the earth's surface will equal the highest temperature recorded in 20 16 years.

Methane gas release

There are a lot of natural gas under the glacier, one of which is methane, which is not only toxic, but also a greenhouse gas. Glaciers melt and become lighter with the formation of cracks. These movements produce cracks, through which a large amount of methane gas is released into the atmosphere, further accelerating global warming by capturing heat from the surface. It is estimated that if the current global warming rate continues, the Arctic region may release more than 50 billion tons of methane in a few years.

Viruses under glaciers

According to Sputnik news agency & radio, Newsweek quoted an unpublished new investigation report, saying that global temperature rise makes the polar ice sheet melt faster and faster, and scientists warned that this may lead to the resurgence of viruses and bacteria that existed in the soil from permafrost hundreds of thousands of years ago.

According to the report, earlier this year, scientists examined two ice core samples from the Kurzhiya ice cap in Gizan, China, and unexpectedly found that they contained many viruses. The history of one sample can be traced back to 520 years ago, while the other sample was blocked under the ice almost 6.5438+0.5 million years ago. Among the viruses discovered this time, 4 are known and 28 are unknown.

Global warming-melting glaciers-sea level rise-has a chain effect on human beings and flora and fauna. The world's largest iceberg has disappeared, 220,000 glaciers around the world are melting at an accelerated pace, and dangerous climate change has emerged. This is a major issue related to human survival, and it is also a new challenge to the existing survival mode of the whole biological world!

How much is the iceberg melting now? What is the reason for the melting of glaciers?

1, climate warming

Climate warming is the main reason for glacier melting. According to the survey of the United Nations Environment Programme, the glacier temperature in Bhutan and Nepal is 1℃ higher than that in 1970s. At the same time, after analyzing the glaciers in New Zealand, scientists found that due to the prevalence of high pressure and dry weather, the snowfall was significantly reduced, and glaciers would rely on natural snowfall to maintain dynamic balance. Glaciers will continue to melt when high temperatures or adverse weather persist.

2. Human factors

In addition to climate warming, due to the world's population expansion, excessive deforestation, indiscriminate exploitation of underground resources, overgrazing and other environmentally unfriendly behaviors, a large number of greenhouse gases will be emitted, which will also accelerate the melting of glaciers. Especially in the northwest of China, which has been deforestation for a long time, the area of soil erosion is serious, and the explosion weather in Shashi increases, thus aggravating the melting of glaciers.

Therefore, we should pay attention to it, consciously cultivate low-carbon and environmentally friendly living habits, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by human factors.

How far has the iceberg melted now? How terrible is the melting of polar glaciers?

At the moment when the glaciers melt, the global sea level will rise by more than 60 meters. Among the four first-tier cities in China, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will all be submerged, and Beijing will also become a coastal city.

An hour after the glacier melted,

More than 50 coastal cities around the world will be swallowed up by seawater, and hundreds of millions of human beings will be buried at the bottom of the sea forever, unable to respond.

A day after the glacier melted,

The thermal balance of the atmosphere will be completely broken, and the surviving human beings are migrating to high altitude areas non-stop, but they don't realize that in fact, a bigger disaster has come slowly.

A week after the glacier melted.

Marine ecology is bound to be destroyed, including polar bears, seals, penguins and other animals living in the polar regions, which will gradually become extinct because of losing their homes.

A month after the glacier melted,

Prehistoric viruses hiding under layers of ice sheets are eager to try, and they will spread to every corner of the world. If both animals and humans are infected on a large scale, the consequences will undoubtedly be disastrous.

Three months after the glacier melted,

Due to the influx of fresh water, the change of ocean current caused by uneven density will lead to heavy rain and tsunami, and the increase of extreme weather will make the living environment of surviving human beings worse.

Six months after the glaciers melted,

The sharp increase of seawater also affects the earth's rotation and slows it down, and the submarine crust is more active, releasing huge energy, which leads to earthquakes and submarine volcanic eruptions becoming the norm.

A year after the glaciers melted,

The global average temperature will rise by 20 degrees Celsius, and the high temperature will ignite dead plants and dry forests. It is no exaggeration to say that the whole earth will be ignited. I don't know how many compatriots will survive this year.